Transport min.: France is Egypt's strategic partner in transport field

PARIS – 24 October 2017: Egyptian Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said France is Egypt's strategic partner, particularly in the transport field, citing Egyptian-French cooperation in Cairo Metro Line 1 or the French-built line, which was constructed in 1989.

In statements on Tuesday on the sidelines of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's current visit to France, the minister said Egypt is seeking to continue cooperation with France to resume the construction of Cairo Metro Line 3.

The third line connects Attaba in east-central Cairo with Abbasiya and Heliopolis. It will extend from the northwest of the Greater Cairo area at Imbaba district to the northeast serving Cairo International Airport.

Egypt is negotiating with France to finance the next phase of Cairo Metro Line 3, the minister added.

There are ongoing negotiations with the French side to develop the high-capacity public transport network in the densely-populated cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Mansoura, he said.

Nowadays, public transit is a matter of life or death for crowded cities such as Cairo, Alexandria and Mansoura, the minister underlined.

The two sides are scheduled to sign on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the public transport sector, he stressed.

France, the second largest high-speed network in Europe, and Egypt are cooperating in the railway domain, the minister said. Egypt is seeking to implement a high-speed rail line that will link El Alamein to Ain Sokhna and another line that will connect the sixth of October city with Aswan, he added.

On Monday, October 16, the transport minister discussed with President of the French Railways (SNCF) Guillaume Pepy promoting bilateral cooperation in the transport domain, particularly in the railways.

The two sides discussed benefiting from the French hands-on expertise in boosting the Egyptian side's capabilities in the field of railroad operational safety.

They also discussed means of benefiting from the successful French experiment in the rail freight.

The Transport Ministry is working on transporting about 25 million tons of goods annually through railways by 2022, the minister stressed.

SNCF is the No. 1 transport and logistics operator in France.